PART 3

Whipping her head up and staring wide-eyed at the infinite stars on the viewscreen, Troi's tears caught in her throat. There. He was there. She could feel him, his emotions a soft whisper in the back of her mind.

"Ensign, set course for Ulmaarin, warp 3. I believe the, um… Ulmaarins are… waiting for us. We have a device to pick up…" Captain Picard said sadly, his voice cracking. He started towards the solitude of his ready room.

"Aye, Captain," said the baby-faced ensign sitting at the helm. Troi stood up, took a step towards the viewscreen, and then turned around to face Picard.

"Captain," she started, not trusting her own voice, fearing that the flittering feeling in the back of her mind would fly away as soon as she said something. "Will's still alive," she finally said, her raven eyes lighting up when the feeling didn't vanish. She wiped with the back of her hand at a tear that was trailing down her cheek, then turned back to the viewscreen. A puzzled expression crossed her features as she stared at the vast expanse of space and the debris field that used to be her home. "I just…don't understand how that can be. There's nothing out there!" she said angrily.